Innovators: OceansAdvance AGM January 30, 2017

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OceansAdvance AGM January 30, 2017

The OceansAdvance Inc. Annual General Meeting and Election of Officers will take place at 3:00 p.m. Monday, January 30, 2017, in the Atlantic Room, NRC Building, Arctic Avenue, Memorial University Campus, St. John's, NL.

OceansAdvance Inc. is very pleased to announce that the Minister of Business, Tourism, Culture and Rural Development; Minister Responsible for the Research and Development Corporation, Hon. Christopher Mitchelmore, will address OceansAdvance Cluster Members regarding "The Way Forward" at the upcoming AGM.

We sincerely hope you can attend and ask that you RSVP to Melanie Maher no later than 4:00 P.M. Thursday, January 26, 2017 at melanie.maher@oceansadvance.net

Michael Maguire is a Professional Engineer and independent consultant with 3 decades’ experience in the offshore energy and marine transportation industries. Mike is currently the Chair of OceansAdvance.

Mike holds a Bachelor of Engineering degree in Naval Architectural and Ocean Engineering at Memorial University of Newfoundland, and is registered with the Association of Professional Engineers and Geoscientists of Newfoundland and Labrador, the United Kingdom Engineering Council and the European Federation of National Engineering Associations. Mike is a member of the Institute of Marine Engineering, Science and Technology (IMarEST), the Society of Naval Architects and Marine Engineers (SNAME), and the Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE).

Mike started his career with Lloyd’s Register’s Offshore Division in London, as a project manager for verification and certification of offshore energy developments for the UK North Sea, Australia’s Timor Sea, the South China Sea and the Grand Banks of Newfoundland. Mike returned to Newfoundland in 1999 to certify the Terra Nova field development, and subsequently joined Husky Energy’s project management team as Quality and Certification Manager for the successful White Rose development. Mike subsequently established Husky Energy’s Atlantic Region R&D Strategy, and managed a multi-faceted innovation portfolio focused on E&P opportunities and challenges in harsh marine and ice-prone environments.

Mike has a notable track record of professional volunteerism, having served on a number of industry and academic technical committees. He currently leads the Finance and Audit Committee for Springboard Atlantic’s Board, is a member of the Lloyd’s Register Offshore Technical Committee, and has made significant contributions to development of Canadian and ISO Standards for Offshore Structures, including as Chair of the Canadian Working Group for Floating Offshore Structures.

NOEL MURPHY – NRC Ocean, Coastal and River Engineering

Noel is a graduate of Memorial University’s Ship Building and Naval Architecture Engineering program (1986). He is a long time employee of the National Research Council of Canada. His current position is Client Relationship Leader, assigned to the Ocean, Coastal and River Engineering Portfolio.

Through his tenure with NRC Noel has worked with many ocean technology companies. During his time managing NRC’s Ocean Technology Enterprise Centre he assisted young entrepreneurs starting new ocean technology companies. In this role he helped them access, research space, technical expertise and financial support.

Noel also served for ten years on the Selection Board of Memorial University’s Genesis Centre. Prior to joining NRC Noel worked at the Halifax Shipyard and with Newfoundland Oceans Research and Development Corporation (NORDCO).

RUSS PELLEY– GRI Simulation Inc.

Russell Pelley, FCPA, FCA, is President and CEO of GRi Simulations Inc., a software development company specializing in simulation of underwater remotely operated vehicles and subsea equipment. GRi's customer base consists of the major oil and gas companies, manufacturers of ROVs and subsea equipment, subsea contractors, ROV training schools, and various navies. From 1982 to 2004 Russ practiced in accounting, tax and consulting with a base of small to medium size businesses.

Prior to that he was a senior tax manager in the St. John's office of KPMG and, for a three year period, was a financial analysts with the then Department of Industrial Development, Government of NL.

Russ served for ten years on the board of Chartered Accountants of Newfoundland and Labrador in various capacities including secretary, vice-president and president, and during his professional life served in various capacities on boards of charitable and community service organizations.

ANGELA PORTER – Allswater Marine Consultants

Angela graduated from the Naval Architecture program at Marine Institute (MI) in 1989 and spent the next 14½ years in British Columbia, first working for a shipyard, then several private marine design consulting firms. After returning to Newfoundland in 2004, she took a year to complete the Bachelor of Technology program at MUN.

Following this she taught at MI in the School of Maritime Studies - teaching naval architecture and offshore structures courses to students in the naval architecture, marine engineering systems design, and nautical science programs - before returning back to private industry. She first worked as Business Development Manager with Genoa Design International Limited, and now in her current roles as Business Development Manager and NL Operations Manager with Allswater. Allswater Marine Consultants Limited is a Halifax based marine design and naval architecture firm. Angela opened their Mount Pearl, NL based office in 2011.

She is an active member of the Society of Naval Architects and Marine Engineers (SNAME), and was a member of the Planning Committee from 1999 to 2003. This volunteer work focused on SNAME governance, international membership, education, and the future direction of the Society. Locally, she is engaged with industry groups such as the Newfoundland and Labrador Association of Technology Industries, the Marine Technology Society, NOIA, and of course, Oceans Advance. Angela is a member of the Avalon Dragons, a breast cancer survivor dragon boat team that practices at Octagon Pond in Paradise, and is working towards bringing this great sport to others in the province. She also volunteers on their Board of Directors.

Angela is passionate about all things marine, and in her 25+ year career has witnessed amazing advancements in oceans technology and vessel design. Some of these advances are already coming from OA members and she firmly believes that’s just the tip of the iceberg for what is possible.